Clare: Meeting our new neighbors

Saturday

May 3, 2014 at 2:00 PM

By Susan Clare

One of my friends, Vivien Bouffard, is a master gardener and member of the Norwood Evening Garden Club. She doesnít miss much outdoors, observing soil, vegetation, and wildlife. She alerted me yesterday that there is a killdeer family being raised in the Norwood Community Garden, of which Vivien is a member.A killdeer has nothing at all to do with deer, but is named for its song. It is a bird, and a very prettily marked one at that. The adult killdeer lay their eggs right on the ground, sometimes using a slight depression which, in our garden they have lined by tossing in a few bits of wood mulch.When I went to the garden this morning, there were the eggs, looking very much like oval, speckled stones. One killdeer, who had been sitting on the eggs, was limping slowly away from the next, affecting a broken wing.The purpose is for predators to follow the adult killdeer, thinking it an easy lunch. So I took a few steps toward the bird which then limped a little further off and stopped to wait for me again. A few times at this, and the bird flew away smoothly, having lured me away from the incubating eggs.Several of us gardeners worked out there this morning, and the killdeer played wounded for each one of us as we arrived. However, after a time it was decided that we posed no immediate threat, so mother killdeer rested on her eggs while father killdeer rested several feet away watching us.Now, hereís the rub: The birds chose an (as yet) unassigned plot at the garden for their nest. It will not be given to any gardener until the killdeer are finished with it.We do not intend to interfere with this process, and it could take a while. The eggs take about 26 days to incubate, and we do not know when they were laid.When hatched, the babies are precocial, meaning "ripened beforehand." This means that instead of being featherless with eyes shut, these babies will be launched with feathers, good vision, and the ability to walk as soon as their feathers are dry. Their parents will lead them around, showing them how to forage for insects and the occasional seeds, until the young birds are able to fly, about a month after hatching.If we had no fence at the garden, this avian family would probably move on about the field and wetlands. However, it is possible they wonít be able to get through our fencing which has been deer, woodchuck, and rabbit proofed. If the parents fly outside the fence and call their young toward them while they are still tiny enough to fit through 1-inch chicken wire, the birds may leave us sooner.In either case, they will not have the burden of human interference in raising their family. We will use other paths to push our wheelbarrows full of compost to our plots, and will make sure our children donít disturb the birds.There are a few unassigned plots still available, and the work of not walking or hauling gardening equipment near the "killdeer plot" will be good exercise for us. We will enjoy the opportunity to watch nature close up, learning as we go. Our garden is a rich experience for every one of us, and we hope for the killdeer as well.Together Yes is a nonprofit organization dedicated to sustainable living in Norwood.Susan Clare is a founding member of Together Yes. To learn more about Together Yes, visit our website at www.tgryes.org. We welcome emails at sustain@tgryes.org.